Front wall for open hearth furnaces



Aug. 18, 1931. H. RATEAU ET AL 1,319,001

v FRONT WALT) FOR OPEN HEARTH FURNACES Filed Jan. 16, 1931 2 Sheets-Shee l INVENTDRE H TBRNEY A g- 18, 1931 H. RATEAU ET AL 1,819,001

FRONT WALL FOR OPEN HEARTH FURNACES Filed Jan. 16, 1931 2 Sheets-Shee 2 INVENT'DRE JQIMZQu HTTD NE:

atented Aug 18, 1931 HENRI RATEAU AND JOHN ALBERT BECK,

FRONT WALL FOR OPEN HEARTH FURNACES Application filed January 16, 1931. Seri This invention relates broadly to open hearth furnaces, and it has for its primary object to rovide a front wall construction for such urnaces which shall be capable of receiving thereon and retaining in banked relation thereto a layer of furnace lining material, as dolomite, in loose form, in such thickness or depth as will afford thereto amore nearly adequate protection against the destructive effects of the intense heat of the furnace and which, consequently, may possess greatly increased life.

It is common in furnaces of open hearth type to, provide rear walls possessing such 5 an inclination or slope interiorly that there may be maintained thereon a layer of a loose refractory lining material affording a fairly adequate protection against the ravages o the high temperatures of the furnace. Howgo ever, for various reasons well understood by those skilled in the art it has not heretofore been found wholly practical to embody in a front wall construction the sloping interior necessary effectively to support the requisite bank of the lining material; and, because of this, the use of substantially upright walls with'the attendant rapid burning out and frequent relining thereof is largely adhered to.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a front furnace wall which is adapted to retain in protecting relation thereto an adequate bank of the lining material, thus greatly to prolong the life of such wall.

A further object is to provide a furnace having a front wall provided with means which permits the banking of the lining material to a height greatly exceeding that of prior furnaces wherein introduction of the material is effected solely through the charging doors and which, consequently, may be more effectively insulated from the deteriorating effects of the intense heat.

A still further object is to provide means for effecting introduction of additional lining material from time to time as require without the necessity of opening the doors, but also to obviate the disintegration of the refractory brick of the wall through chipto ping and spelling whlch results from sudback, which in view,

011' WEIR'ION, WEST VIRGINIA al No. 509,098.

den changes in the temperature created by frequent opening and Another object within closing of the doors. the contemplation of the invention is to provide in a wall of the character referred to means those parts, as the for effectively .maintaining in relatively cool condition door frame and the skewremain exposed to the action of the heat, or which cannot be shielded by the lining material employed.

With these and other important objects the invention of constructlon, combinatlons of resides in the features arrangement ofparts and elements which will hereinafter be described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front f of the front wall of the invention;

Figures lines 22 Figure 1 is a elevation of a portion a furnace embodying 2 and 3 are vertical sections on and 3-3, respectively, Fig. 1;

fragmentary detail section on lineni, Fig. 3; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the lower end of a face of a buckstay.

Referring to said generally the front cooler for the inner drawings, 1 designates buckstays of the furnace frame, the upper ends of which are suitabl connected to the rear as by the usual tie rods 2. are maintained rigidly alined relation, as by channels 3 mounted buckstays (not shownl The buckstays 1 in suitably spaced connecting beams or on their upper ends.

Forming a part of the front furnace wall and extending throughout the length thereof is a heavy metal designated generally by t support or abutment,

e reference numeral 4, which occupies a position belowthe usual or normal level of the charging doors 5. Said abutment, which projects inwardly relative to the plane of the inner buckstays 1, includes faces of the a breast portion consisting of a substantially upright wall 4 and an upwardly and sills for the doors 5. ported or braced by suitably interengaged outwardly inclined face 4*, d the latter extending f said wall 4: to the approximate rom the upper end of level of the Said abutment is supsaid buckstays, being therewith, as is best illustrated in Fig. 3. Intermediate adjacent buckstays the abutment has a. horizontal outwardly projecting ledge 4 which constitutes a support for the door sill 6 and portions of the door frame.

Resting upon and against the breast walls of the abutment 1 is the brick-work base portion 7 of the front furnace wall, constructed of suitable refractory material and including a specially heat-resistant inner facing, as of chrome or magnesite brick. Said brick work has a gradual upward and outward inclination or slope from the furnace hearth to the level of the under side of the door opening 8, and at said level it forms a shelf 9 located inwardly of said opening. Intermediate adjacent door openings, or inward with respect to the buckstays, said brick work is continued upwardly above the level of the shelves 9 and terminates in relatively narrow shelves or ledges 10 located at or adjacent to the lower ends of openings 11 which are provided in the buckstays 1 and which constitute lining-introduction ports, as will hereinafter be explained.

The angle of inclination of the inner or exposed face of the sloping wall of brick work 7 is such that the lining material 40, as dolomite, introduced in loose form, will tend to remain in repose thereon in suflicient depth to more or less effectively shield and protect said wall from the destructiveeifects of the intense heat of the melt. The inner facing preferably has a more or less regularly stepped formation, as shown at 12 in Figs. 2 and 3, for facilitating the retention of the loose lining material.

The buckstays 1 have a novel form, each thereof comprising a pair of relatively spaced upright beams 1 joined by an intermediate web I". Said web has therein an opening 11, hereinbefore referred to, located at a materially greater elevation than that of the door openings 8.. Said opening 11, constituting a passage or port through which the lining material may be introduced, not only enables banking of said material to a greater height upon or against the front furnace wall than is possible when such lining is introduced through the charging doors 5, but also provides for the introduction from time to time of additional material without.

opening'of the charging doors. While the opening 11 may be provided with a. door if desired, or may be bricked up following use, it is preferred that a hopper 13 be mounted upon the buckstay in front of the opening. Such hopper may be kept filled with the lining material 10 not only for closing the opening 11, but also to provide a continuous supply of such material which may drain to position as it is needed for renewal of the wall lining.

As herein shown, the hopper is readily mountable and demountable, having on each of its opposite sides a pair of lugs 15 which are engageable and with headed pins 14 borne by the face of the buckstay at opposite sides of the opening 11.

The charging door openings are preferably equipped with a. hollow water-cooled metal frame, herein shown as of arch-like form and comprising a head 16 and opposite vertically disposed j ambs 17. Said head preferably ex tends upward to and abuts upon the under side of the skewback 19. Said water-cooled frame supplants the usual brick arch provided in the door opening and obviously possesses marked advantages over such arches, among which mav be noted that it affords a greater height of door opening than is practicable in a brick-arched opening.

The inner faces of the beam portions 1 of the buckstays are shielded by readily renewable hollow water-cooled metal facings l8, herein shown as of tapered form, which are introduced downwardly past or through the skewback 19 which supports the edge of of the roof 20 and have their lower ends supported by bracket-like members 21 carried by the buskstays at or adjacent to the level of the door sills 6. Each of said facings 18, as shown in Fig. 5, embodies a centrally located longitudinal wall 22 by which its interior is divided, forming descending and ascending courses through which the cooling water may circulate, said courses being in communication at their lower ends, as shown at 23 in said Fig. 5.

Also, shields the beam portions 1 of the buckstays at opposite sides of the lining-introduction openings or ports 11, while water cooled heads 25 are interposed between the upper ends of said ports and the skewback 19. Additionally, theskewbacks have those portions thereof which are located between and inwardly of the beam portions 1 water cooled, as shown in Fig. 3, while those portions thereof located between adjacent buckstays have a facing 24 of refractory brick.

outer faces of fin-like or ribbed formation, as

shown in Figs. 1 and 2, facilitating air cooling thereof. Horizontally disposed water tubes 26 are interposed between and connect adjacent heads 25 and lie inward of the buckstays at the joint between the lower'inner edge of-the skewback and the corresponding edge of the roof 20, thus to protect the roof against the rapid disintegration which frequently occurs at and adjacent to said joint.

It will be understood that the structure described possesses various material advantages as compared with prior furnace structures of the type referred to, chief of which is that the front wall is afforded greatly prolonged life due to the more adequate insulation against the destructive effects of the high temperature carried within the furnace of those parts which are most readily and frequently disintegrated. Further, it will be noted that, except the brick work 7, practically any part of the wall which may fail in operation may be replaced, or renewed, without shutting down the furnace.

Due to the improved form of buckstay, providing the lining-introduction opening or port, the bank of the lining material employed may be maintained in desired depth during operation of the furnace without opening of the charging doors and, consequently, without permitting frequent losses of heat within the furnaces which result from such opening of said doors. Moreover, with the brick work 7 constructed to present the inner face having a slope of proper liningretaining angle, the probable life of this portion of the front wall is substantially that of the furnace considered as a whole. Otherwise expressed, the life of said brickwork approximates the duration of the furnace between complete rebuilds, which, ordinarily, are required at intervals of from 90 to 120 days of continuous furnace operation.

What is claimed is- 1. In an open-hearth furnace, a front wall having an inner upwardly and outwardly inclined face which, between the door openings, extends to a height above the sill-level of said openings, saidwall having therein between and at a greater elevation than said openings ports for the introduction of loose material in banked lining relation to said face. i

2. In an open-hearth furnace, a front wall having an inner upwardly and outwardly inclined face which, between the door openings, extends to a height above the sill-level of said openings, I angle of inclination that it will retain 1n position thereon a bank of lining material in loose form, said front wall having portlike openings for the introduction of loose lining material in banked relation to said face.

3. In an open-hearth furnace, a front wall embodying buckstays and including a brick portion having an inner face sloping upwardly and outwardly from the hearth at such an angle that it will retain thereon a bank of lining material in loose form, said wall having therein normally positloned charging door openings and having said sloping face between said openings extended to a height above the sill level of the latter, said wall having therein between said openings andat a greater elevation than said sill level ports for the introduction of the lining material.

4. In an open hearth furnace, at front wall embodying buckstays, a metal abutment located inwardly of said buckstays, a brick portion resting upon and against said abutment and forming a ledge at each of the charging-door openings, said portion having an upwardly and outwardly sloping face said face having such anwhich, between said openings, extends to a height materially above the level of said ledges, said wall having therein between said openings and adjacent to the roof-supporting skewback ports for the introduction of wall-lining material in loose form.

5. In an open hearth furnace, a front wall including buckstays, a brick portion having its inner face sloping upwardly and outwardly at such an angle that it will retain thereon a bank of lining material in loose form, said portion having therein charging door "openings and having its said sloping face extending between said openings to aheight materially above the sill level of the latter, said buckstays having lining-introduction ports located therein adjacent to the roof-supporting skewback.

6'. In a furnace, a front wall having an upwardly and outwardly, sloping inner face capable of supporting thereon a bank of lining material in loose form, said wall having therein charging door openings, buckstays between said openings and having therein ports for the introduction of the lining material, said ports being located above the level of said door openings and having said sloping face extending upward thereto.

7. In a furnace, a front wall having an upwardly and outwardly sloping inner face capable of supporting thereon a bank of lining material in loose form, said wall having therein charging door openings, buckstays between said openings and having therein ports for the introduction of the lining material, said ports being located above the level of said door openings and having said sloping face extending upward thereto, and hoppers mounted in front of said ports adapted for the reception of said material and from which the latter may drain through said ports to said face.

8. In a furnace, a front wall having an upwardly and outwardly sloping inner face ca pable of supporting thereon a bank of lining material in loose form, said wall having therein charging door openings, water-cooled door frames about said door openings .and extending upward to a level adjacent to the roof-supporting skewback, buckstays between adjacent door frames and having therein ports for the introductionof the lining material in banked relation to said sloping face, said ports being located above the level of said door openings and having said face extending upward approximately to the level thereof.

9. In a furnace, a front wall having an upwardly and outwardly sloping inner face capable of supporting thereon a bank of lining material in loose form, said wall having therein charging door openings, water-cooled door frames about said door openings and extending upwardly to a level adjacent to the roof-supporting skewback, buckstays between adjacent door frames; each buckstay comprising relatively spaced upright beams and an intermediate connecting web; said webs having therein ports for the introduction of the lining material in banked relation to said sloping face, said ports being located above the level of said door openings and having said face extending upward approximately to the level of the lower portions thereof.

10. In a furnace, a front wall having an upwardly and outwardly sloping inner face capable of supporting thereon a bank of lining material in loose form, said wall having therein charging door openings, water-cooled door frames above said door openings and extending upwardly to a level adjacent to the roof-supporting skewback; buckstays between adjacent door frames; each buckstay comprising relatively spaced upright beams and an intermediate connecting web; said webs having therein ports for the introduction of the lining material in banked relation to said sloping face, said ports being located above the level of said door openings and having said face extending upward to approximately the level of the lower portions thereof, and hoppers mounted in front of said ports adapted for the reception of said material and from which the latter may drain through said ports to said face.

11. In a furnace, a front wall having an upwardly and outwardly sloping inner face capable of supporting thereon a bank of lining material in loose form, said wall havlng therein charging door openings, water-cooled door frames about said door openings and extending upwardly to a level adjacent to the roof-supporting skewback, buckstays between adjacent door frames; each buckstay comprising relatively spaced upright beams and an intermediate connecting web; said webs having therein ports for the introduction of the lining material in banked relation to said sloping face, said ports being located above the level of said door openings and having said face extending upward approximately to the level of the lower portions thereof, and water cooled metal facings disposed in shielding relation to the inner faces of the beams of said buckstays.

12. In a furnace, at front wall having an upwardly and outwardly sloping inner face capable of supporting thereon a bank of lining material in loose form, said wall having therein charging door openings, water-cooled door frames about said door openings and extending upwardly to a level adjacent to the roof-supporting skewback, buokstays between adjacent door frames; each buckstay comprising relatively spaced upright beams and an intermediate connecting web; said webs having therein ports for the introduction of the lining material in banked relation to said sloping face, said ports being located above the level of said door openings and tures.

HENRI RATEAU. JOHN ALBERT BECK. 

